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Homosexuality and bisexuality

Quotation sampler:

"Because families are defined by love not gender. Because hatred
is not a family value. Because equal rights are not special rights." Anonymous
comment found on a gay web
site.

"If you're gay or a lesbian, its a biological error"
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, physiologist and radio/TV talk show host.

"Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be
ashamed of, no vice, no degradation, it cannot be classified as an illness."
Sigmund Freud (1935)

"The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name
of religion than for any other single reason. That, THAT my friends, is
true perversion."
Harvey Milk, a gay male who spoke the above words
at the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Rally. He was killed later that year by a fanatic.

"[Homosexuals are] brute beasts...part of a vile and satanic
system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a
celebration in heaven." Jerry Falwell, (1933 - 2007) a well known
fundamentalist Christian teleminister.

"The opposite of homosexuality isn't heterosexuality; the opposite of
homosexuality is holiness." Mike Haley, the director of gender issues for
Focus on the Family.

"Whatever religious people may say
about their love of God or the mandates of their religion, when their
behavior toward others is violent and destructive, when it causes
suffering among their neighbors, you can be sure the religion has been
corrupted and reform is desperately needed." Charles Kimball and
author of a book:
When Religion Becomes Evil.

"When religion sanctifies hatred, it lends to that hatred a
special ferocity. Normal moral inhibitors are erased." Johannes
Cardinal Wildebrands.

"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own
image, when it
turns out that God hates all the same people you do." Anne Lamott

"...change is possible. No one is born gay. It's a perverted
choice one makes. Why would God make anyone homosexual then bar them
admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven?" From the "Christians No
Longer Gay Living for God" web site." 1

"Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men
holding guns than holding hands? Ernest Gaines

"You could move." Abigail Van Buren in "Dear Abby" replying to a
reader who was concerned that a gay couple had moved across the road from him;
he wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood.

"It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality.
It's like disapproving of rain." Francis Maude

"The Bible contains six admonishments to
homosexuals and 362 admonishments to the heterosexuals. That doesn't mean
that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more
supervision." Lynn Lavner

The core problem:

There is no consensus in North America about homosexuality:

Some people consider homosexual behavior to be a crime. They believe
that sexually active gays and lesbians should be arrested, charged, and
perhaps imprisoned.

Still others consider homosexual orientation to be a morally neutral
trait, like left handedness. It is normal, natural, and unchosen. Of course, homosexual acts -- like heterosexual
acts -- can be sinful and sometimes criminal if they involve manipulation,
coercion, lack of consent, significant danger of passing an STD, etc.

There is a major divide between those under 40 years of age -- who tend to
have more liberal and inclusive beliefs about homosexuality -- and those over 60
who are much more conservative. As younger adults come into positions of power
and older adults retire, a major shift in the acceptance of homosexuality is
expected.

Oppression based on race, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity:

Over the past 150 years, there have been many groups who have sought the
North American dream of "liberty and justice for all." Examples are:

African-Americans seeking an end to slavery.

Women seeking entry into professions that had been denied them.

Women campaigning for universal suffrage.

For the past few decades, gays and lesbians have been actively seeking the same equal rights and
protections enjoyed by other groups, including the right to marry.

Transsexuals are now beginning to seek equal treatment and protections as well.

The dispute over homosexuality is a little different from the previous two
conflicts based on race and gender:

It is generally obvious whether a person is Black or female. It is not obvious
whether a person has a homosexual orientation. A gay or lesbian can try to stay
in "the closet" and avoid discrimination.

No consensus has been reached over the nature, cause, and permanence of homosexuality:

Many social and religious conservatives believe that homosexuality
is immoral, chosen after puberty, is a lifestyle, is defined by one's
behavior, and is changeable.

Most gays, lesbians, religious liberals, mental health professionals
believe that homosexuality is morally neutral, is determined by some
combination of genetics and environmental factors before school age, is
a sexual orientation, is defined by ones sexual attraction to persons of the
same sex, and is very rarely if ever changeable during adulthood.

The "warfare" among science & religions:

Normally, there are minimal conflicts between scientists and theologians.
They usually work in different areas of interest. Theologians are rarely
interested in the tensile strength of steel. Scientists -- at work, at least --
are rarely interested in the soul, salvation,
Heaven or Hell. But there are
shared areas where both scientists and theologians promote their own beliefs.
Often, these beliefs are in conflict.

Homosexuality is measurable and thus is a legitimate area for human
sexuality researchers to study. They have generally concluded that adult human
sexuality comes in three natural,
normal, unchosen, and almost always unchangeable orientations:

Heterosexuality: Most people are sexually attracted only
to
members of the opposite gender.

Homosexuality: A small minority of adults are attracted only to
members of the same gender.

Bisexuality: A smaller minority are attracted to both men
and women, but not necessarily to the same degree. They are the only folks that
can have a sexual preference in their relationships.

Homosexuality is mentioned in the Torah and Bible, in the Qur'an, in writings
of the Baha'i Prophet Baha'u'llah, and in
other texts considered sacred in various world religions. Thus,
homosexuality is a legitimate area for theologians to study.

Many religious conservatives believe that
God inspired the authors of their holy book to write material that is
completely inerrant -- free of error. They base
their beliefs about homosexual behavior on their interpretation of
biblical passages. They generally conclude that it is sinful, unnatural,
abnormal, chosen and changeable behavior.

Religious liberals generally approach the Bible as a
historical document rather than as the inerrant Word of God. They base their beliefs about homosexual
orientation on their interpretation of the same biblical passages, and
on general biblical themes of justice, love and acceptance. They also
seriously consider the findings of human sexuality researchers. They generally agree
with scientists that homosexuality isa morally neutral, natural, normal, unchosen, and unchangeable orientation
for a minority of adults.

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Two opposing definitions:

In the above text, there are two opposing concepts as to the nature of
homosexuality:

According to almost all human sexuality researchers, mental health
therapists, medical practitioners, religious liberals, gays, lesbians,
bisexuals, etc., homosexuality is one of three sexual orientations. A person's
orientation is based on the sex to which a person is attracted, the person's
fantasies, and self-identification. Homosexuality is a part of what they
are."

According to most religious
conservatives, the term "homosexuality" refers to behavior, not to sexual
orientation. Homosexuality is a behavior that one does:

A heterosexual is a person who has recently engaged in sexual behavior
only with a person(s) of the opposite gender.

A homosexual is a person who has recently engaged in sexual behavior with one or more persons of the same gender.

Bisexuality is rarely mentioned.

This difference in definitions makes dialogue almost impossible. As examples:

Consider a homosexual -- a gay or lesbian person who is only attracted to individuals of the same gender, and
who has solely engaged in same-sex behavior. Most religious liberals and
conservatives would both consider
him/her to be a homosexual. However, if the
individual now decides to remain celibate, then:

Religious liberals and others would generally consider her/him
to be a celibate homosexual.

Many religious conservatives would consider that he/she has
"left the gay lifestyle" and is now an "ex-gay."

This leads to immense confusion, particularly if the persons life story is
told in a way that seems to imply that their sexual orientation changed from
homosexual to heterosexual, as is often the case.

Similarly, a bisexual who had been sexually active with both men and
women would be considered a bisexual by most religious liberals, but would
be viewed as a homosexual by most conservatives. If the individual decided
to restrict his/her sexual relationship(s) with persons of the opposite sex,
they would be considered an ex-gay by most conservatives and a bisexual by
most liberals.

Fundamentalist and other evangelical Christians often
assign unique meanings to commonly used words. A few influential
fundamentalist Christian groups have taken this to an extreme by broadened their
own definition of "sexual orientation"
far beyond the three that other groups recognize.

Beliefs of the American public:

By far the most vocal groups in the media who discuss homosexuality are
religious conservatives debating supporters of equal rights for gays, lesbians
and bisexuals. But there are more than two viewpoints concerning homosexuality.
We have been able to identify at least six viewpoints
which we refer to as:

Abomination (the most conservative position),

Change is expected,

Celibacy is expected,

Marginally acceptable,

Equality and

Liberation (the most liberal position).

For simplicity, most of our essays compare and contrast very conservative
with very liberal positions.

Equal rights for homosexuals is one of the most controversial and divisive social topics
in North America. Evangelical Christians consider it to be the most important
social conflict at the present time -- more important to them even than
restricting or eliminating abortion access for women.

Among Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Christians, 95% find the "lifestyle" to be unacceptable.

Among born-again Christians, 66% agree.

Among the general population, only 46% agrees.

One indication of future trends is a survey of
high school seniors taken in 2002; it indicated that only 39% believe that "gay lifestyles are morally wrong."

About homophobia:

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. defines homophobia as an "irrational
fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or
homosexuals" Unfortunately, the term has more than one meaning. This leads to a
lot of hard feelings, confusion, and an inability to dialog. By this definition:

One can be homophobic if one fears or hates gays and/or lesbians, even if
one has no interest in oppressing or discriminating against them.

One can be homophobic if one discriminates against them, even though one
has no irrational fear or aversion towards homosexuals.

The term "homophobia" is in the same category as such words as: sexism, racism, and
religious hatred. Sometimes they mean simple hatred or aversion; other times
they refer to activities intended to restrict the human rights of people.

In terms of the victims' lives, simple
hatred and aversion has little effect. It is action of oppression and
discrimination which harm people.

We will use homophobia to refer to the latter activity -- desire and/or
actions to oppress
and discriminate against gays and lesbians. More details.

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.